International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 6, Number 2, July 2012
Return to current issue pageResearch Article
Excerpt
Why University Students Don't Read: What Professors Can Do To Increase Compliance
This article reports findings from two studies assessing reading compliance among first
semester freshmen at a small Midwestern two-year liberal arts university. The first study
assessed reading compliance of students enrolled in two sections of First Year Seminar,
finding that 46% of students reported that they read assignments, yet only 55% of those
students were able to demonstrate the most basic level of comprehension of the material
they claimed to have read. Reasons most frequently cited by students to explain their
failure to read and advice that noncompliant readers say will increase their compliance are
identified. The second study assessed reading compliance in a 3-course learning community
of first semester freshmen, incorporating one piece of noncompliant reader advice in each of
the courses, finding that quizzes and graded journals greatly increased reading compliance.
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Full ArticleBio
Mary E. HoeftUniversity of Wisconsin-Barron County
Rice Lake, Wisconsin
mary.hoeft@uwc.edu
I've had the pleasure of teaching courses in the disciplines of Communication Arts and French at the University of Wisconsin-Barron County for the past 40 years. I hold the rank of Professor. In 2005, when selected a Wisconsin Teaching Scholar, I began my journey into the field of SoTL research and that is where my interest remains today. As a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar to Morocco, my commitment to SoTL was put to the test as I surveyed children throughout the country on their attitudes toward the role of women. In September of 2011, I received the Chancellor's Award for Career Excellence.